Jordan's Three-Pointer!

"Timeout!"

"Phil Jackson called a timeout! He needed to break the Lakers' momentum!"

"How would he adjust the tactics?"

"I need you to connect with each other!" Phil Jackson kept it brief.

So far, the Eastern Conference's lineup had mainly relied on two-man combinations: Jordan and Pippen, Webber and Hardaway.

But once the Western Conference All-Stars raised their defense to this level, that kind of two-man offensive system was clearly too rigid! It had no way of breaking through the defensive scheme led by Kobe.

Kobe and Garnett's defensive abilities were simply too strong!

It turned out that with a player like the Wolf King, whose defensive coverage was so vast, alongside Kobe, Kobe's defensive dominance could rise to another level!

Kobe and Garnett's defensive systems combined for far more than 1+1=2! The chemistry they created was phenomenal! Kobe locked down the ball-handler while Garnett swept everywhere without limit.

And with Payton added in! This system was practically the PROMAX version of the Lakers' defense.

The Eastern Conference All-Stars had to be integrated! Only by molding them into a complete whole would they have a chance of breaking such a defensive system.

But getting several stars to truly mesh together was easier said than done.

Many superteams could spend an entire season building chemistry and still fail. Fortunately, aside from Dikembe Mutombo, the Eastern Conference All-Stars all had excellent basketball IQ and passing ability.

Phil Jackson quickly laid out several offensive sets!

"Webber handles the ball at the high post! Pull Garnett out to the perimeter!"

"Penny and Jordan alternate handoffs outside!"

"Webber passed it out! Not to Penny or Jordan!"

"To Pippen, cutting empty to the basket! A one-handed tomahawk dunk!"

"Jordan and Penny's movement on the perimeter stretched the defense and created room for Pippen's cut! A perfect